The holiday weekend will be postponed for most of eastern North Carolina due to Hurricane Arthur’s visit. According to The Weather Channel, Arthur became a Category 2 with 100mph winds as it closed in on Cape Fear, North Carolina on Thursday evening.

For students at The University of North Carolina Wilmington, dangerous weather began around 8 a.m. on Thursday.

“UNCW’s main campus is now under a hurricane watch and UNCW’s Onslow Extension site is under a hurricane warning,” the university’s campus-wide email stated.

Students in the area were encouraged to monitor news media to stay up to date on worsening weather conditions. As Arthur closed in on Wilmington, accompanied rain-bands resulted in tornadoes.

A man crosses a flooded Highway as wind pushes water over the road as Hurricane Arthur passes through Nags Head, N.C. Friday, July 4.Hurricane Arthur has moved back over the Atlantic and is projected to remain offshore this Fourth of July, after making landfall on the southern end of North Carolina’s barrier islands yesterday with sustained winds up to 100 mph. (Photo: Gerry Broome, AP)

At approximately 1 p.m. the tornado sirens blasted through campus followed by a university email stating, “seek shelter immediately in the nearest permanent building and remain sheltered until the warning has expired.” After 45 minutes, an all clear alert went out.

Campus was forced to close at 2p.m. on Thursday for precautions as Arthur took a turn west. CNN reported that NC Gov. Pat McCrory told media and residents that the western movement of the storm was not expected.

That didn’t stop beach goers from flocking to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina to see the high wind and heavy rain for themselves. The Weather Channel and other local affiliates were on location reporting live from Wrightsville through the night. Many students went onto Johnnie Mercer’s Pier to get an up close view of the swells.

Damage is expected to continue up the coast, especially hitting the Outer Banks, North Carolina, where the majority of residents and visitors were forced to evacuate. The National Weather Service will continue to track Arthur throughout the next few days.

Kaitlyn Russell is currently a junior at The University of North Carolina Wilmington studying communication studies and journalism. She serves as the founder and Editor-in-chief of Her Campus UNCW, a branch of the national online community. You can follow her on Twitter @KaitlynRussell_.

This article comes from The USA TODAY College Contributor network. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY. You understand that we have no obligation to monitor any discussion forums, blogs, photo- or video-sharing pages, or other areas of the Site through which users can supply information or material. However, we reserve the right at all times, in our sole discretion, to screen content submitted by users and to edit, move, delete, and/or refuse to accept any content that in our judgment violates these Terms of Service or is otherwise unacceptable or inappropriate, whether for legal or other reasons.